Chickens are also known as roosters. The name roosting bird got introduced in the mid-18th century. These birds represented clocks as they roost time and again showing, the time in a day.
Chicken belongs to the bird family. However, they cannot fly freely like other birds. Most of the facts about chicken are surprising cause they are being served on the plate at a restaurant with some green leaves sprinkled over it.
Chicken
Chicken is known as the subspecies of the red jungle fowl. They belong to the class of Aves and are widely distinctive in the type of domesticated fowl. They got originated from Asia or the western part of the world.
Chicken is one of the most domesticated common animals present all around the world. They have a total population of 23.7 billion as of 2018, and more than 19 billion got counted in 2011.
Chicken Facts
Chickens and peacocks are cousins as they are from the same family “Phasianidae.” They are omnivores in nature and often feed by scratching the soil and searching for their food. They feed on insects, seeds, young mice, and even small insects.
Let’s explore some more facts about chicken.
1. Great memory
According to the research, the rooster has excellent memory power as they can recognize up to 100 faces at a time. If you have chicken in your backyard, then it might know you as well as your entire family.
According to the research, chicken also can remember every place they roam around and their folks even if they haven’t met for months. If you treat them harshly then, they can remember you for years and know who you are.
These super intelligent and emotional animals have a high level of thinking skills like mammals. They also have recognition of different animals like dogs, cats, etc.
2. Strong vision
According to research, chickens have a better vision than human beings. The well-organized eyes with five different types of color receptors enable them to see various colors at times and have a distinct vision of the surroundings.
As soon as they get hatched, chickens can avoid and detect the obstacles present in the surrounding. They can accurately peck on objects as well being aware of the deep and shallow surface just after getting hatched.
Chickens can move their eyes independently and can rotate their eyes up to 360 degrees. They can see through unorthodox angles of the surrounding without even turning their head.
3. Social animal
As human beings, chickens are also known to be social animals. Mother teaches their chicks to eat and also prohibits them from eating grains that are bad for them. They guide their babies to find food, forage, etc.
They tend to copy and imitate each other’s behavior. If you let one chicken do something, then the rest will follow the same.
4. Create sounds
All these animals have their unique way of communicating with each other. For chickens usually prefer their vocal communication while communicating with each other. They use varieties of sounds to teach, speak, express feelings and thoughts to each other.
5. Certain breed of chicken is about to get extinct
There are about 25 million chickens today in the world. Despite the fact, traditional or heritage breed chickens are at risk and are on the verge of extinction. The real cause behind it is the industrialization of chicken farming.
Factory farming and chicken farming have made the disappearance of the true breed of chickens. It has enhanced the production of eggs and meat quality. However, true breeds of chicken are missing.
Also, the health hen is known as a subspecies of the prairie chicken that became extinct in 1932. You can learn some facts about endangered species on the brink of extinction like the Bengal tiger and its conservation.
6. They have a hierarchy
They distinguish their hierarchy based on the pecking order. Chickens operate a strict hierarchy. The top chickens lay down by law and bully the smaller and weaker chickens by pecking on them.
Not only chickens but based on pecking orders, other birds get ranked in the top-down hierarchy of the flocks. Doing so will help the chicken to govern themselves.
They are social animals and always prefer to live and gather around with the folks. In this way, using their pecking order will allow them to show their position in the hierarchy.
The pecking order got determined based on pecking. These hierarchy and social abilities are quite different compared to other birds.
7. Chicken’s egg color and genetics
The egg color produced by Hen gets determined through their breeds. Usually, leghorn chicken lay white eggs, Orrington’s chicken lay brown eggs. Some eggs produced by Ameraucanas are blue.
The color of the chicken’s egg can get determined through the color of its earlobe. The color of the lobe always depends upon the breed of chicken.
8. Chickens do dream like humans
This is one of the most surprising facts about chickens: they can dream like humans. When chickens sleep, they dream like human beings and other mammals. They have rapid eye movement during the phase of their sleep which signifies dreaming.
Another sleeping stage that humans lack is USWS also, known as Unihemisoheric slow-wave sleep. It means half of their brain is active and awake whereas, the other half is asleep.
Also, other interesting facts about chickens are they can sleep with one eye open. It is a revolutionary method that will help them to escape and get aware of predators. The situation can make you confused about whether they are sleeping or not well.
9. Chickens are smarter
Studies have shown that chickens are emotionally and mentally strong. They get counted as one of the most intelligent animals in the world. They resemble many traits similar to the primates.
They can even demonstrate complex problem-solving skills with super powerful sensory powers. Their telescopic eyesight also has helped them to sense many things happening around their surroundings.
They can comprehend causes and effects as well. They can pass on their knowledge to their offspring. They do demonstrate self-control and even show getting worried about certain things.
Chickens are more than just the delicious food on the platter. They are more brilliant and more intelligent social animals than human beings as they have a sharp memory, vision, and communication skills.
